Yahoo! News: World News

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• Turkey seeks allies' support for ground operation as Syria war nears border
• U.S. planned major cyber attack on Iran if diplomacy failed: NYT
• China sends missiles to contested South China Sea island: Fox News
• Obama, ASEAN discuss South China Sea tensions, but no joint mention of China
• U.N. envoy wins Syria government green light for aid convoys: U.N.
• Former U.N. chief Boutros Boutros-Ghali dead at 93
• Solving the evolutionary puzzle of menopause
• Top-seeded Kevin Anderson quits Delray Beach Open
• UN says a 'humanitarian catastrophe' is unfolding in Yemen
• Food aid reaches thousands uprooted by Boko Haram in Chad: U.N.
• Top Asian News 12:26 a.m. GMT
• First U.N. refugee aid reaches war-battered Yemeni city in months
• Australian miner finds huge 404-carat diamond in Angola
• Chinese ship to leave Australia to search for Flight 370
• Melbourne Victory fined, sanctioned because of fan trouble
• The Latest: Pope looks irked as overeager crowd tugs sleeve
• Pope urges Mexican youth to resist lure of easy drug money
• Obama under fire for lack of leadership over Syria
• Correction: Latin America Zika story
• Pope urges Mexicans: don't lose heart amid violence
• Obama calls for 'tangible steps' to lower South China Sea tensions
• Flux Party seeks to be the bitcoin of Australian politics
• US restores regular flights to Cuba
• Firth says 'rather restrained' characters often the richest
• US freezes assets of Salvadoran MS-13 gang leaders
• Eagles of Death Metal perform in Paris for attack survivors
• Admin opposes Cruz bill to rename Chinese Embassy address
• Turkey pushes case for ground operations as Kurds advance
• Review finds Guantanamo prisoner was 'low-ranking' militant
• Hawks backup center Splitter to miss remainder of season
• Syria says U.N. envoy de Mistura's credibility 'needs testing'
• Cavani scores as PSG beats Chelsea 2-1 in Champions League
• Wales admit to Biggar concerns for Six Nations clash with France
• Bracewell ruled out of 2nd test vs. Australia
• Syria's UN envoy blasts MSF over hospital attack
• Contaminated Flint water among most expensive in the U.S.: report
• Obama: US will keep looking to hit IS targets in Libya

Turkey seeks allies' support for ground operation as Syria war nears border Posted: 16 Feb 2016 12:03 PM PST By Tulay Karadeniz, Ece Toksabay and Humeyra Pamuk ANKARA/ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey, Saudi Arabia and some European allies want ground troops deployed in Syria as a Russian-backed government advance nears NATO's southeastern border, Turkey's foreign minister said, but Washington has so far ruled out a major offensive. Syrian government forces made fresh advances on Tuesday, as did Kurdish militia, both at the expense of rebels whose positions have been collapsing in recent weeks under the Russian-backed onslaught. The offensive, supported by Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias as well as Russian air strikes, has brought the Syrian army to within 25 km (15 miles) of Turkey's frontier, while Kurdish fighters, regarded by Ankara as hostile insurgents, have extended their presence along the border.

U.S. planned major cyber attack on Iran if diplomacy failed: NYT Posted: 16 Feb 2016 02:09 PM PST The United States had a plan for an extensive cyber attack on Iran in case diplomatic attempts to curtail its nuclear program failed, The New York Times reported on Tuesday, citing a forthcoming documentary and military and intelligence officials. Code-named Nitro Zeus, the plan was aimed at crippling Iran's air defenses, communications systems and key parts of its electrical power grid, but was put on hold after a nuclear deal was reached last year, the Times said. The plan developed by the Pentagon was intended to assure President Barack Obama that he had alternatives to war if Iran moved against the United States or its regional allies, and at one point involved thousands of U.S. military and intelligence personnel, the report said.

China sends missiles to contested South China Sea island: Fox News Posted: 16 Feb 2016 03:57 PM PST The Chinese military has deployed an advanced surface-to-air missile system to one of its contested islands in the South China Sea, Fox News reported on Tuesday, citing civilian satellite imagery. Woody Island is also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam. Bill Urban, a Pentagon spokesman, said: "While I cannot comment on matters related to intelligence, we do watch these matters very closely." The report comes as U.S. President Barack Obama and leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations concluded a summit in California.

Obama, ASEAN discuss South China Sea tensions, but no joint mention of China Posted: 16 Feb 2016 04:16 PM PST By Jeff Mason and Bruce Wallace RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said on Tuesday he and leaders of Southeast Asian countries discussed the need to ease tensions in the South China Sea, and agreed that any territorial disputes there should be resolved peacefully and through legal means. Obama told a news conference that leaders at the meeting reaffirmed "our strong commitment to a regional order where international rules and norms and the rights of all nations, large and small, are upheld." "We discussed the need for tangible steps in the South China Sea to lower tensions including a halt to further reclamation, new construction and militarization of disputed areas," Obama said. "When ASEAN speaks with a clear and unified voice, it can help advance security, opportunity and human dignity." After a first day discussing trade and economic issues with the 10 ASEAN states, U.S. officials had been hoping to arrive at a common position on the South China Sea, where China and several ASEAN states have conflicting claims.

U.N. envoy wins Syria government green light for aid convoys: U.N. Posted: 16 Feb 2016 03:59 PM PST By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - The Syrian government has approved access to seven besieged areas and U.N. convoys are expected to set off in days, the United Nations said on Tuesday after crisis talks in Damascus. U.N. Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura, who won the green light at talks with Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem, said the world body would test the government commitment to allow access on Wednesday but gave no details. De Mistura said they had discussed the issue of humanitarian access to areas besieged by all sides in the five-year war.

Former U.N. chief Boutros Boutros-Ghali dead at 93 Posted: 16 Feb 2016 10:24 AM PST By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Former U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, a blunt-spoken Egyptian who led the world body through global turmoil as it defined its peacekeeping role and lost his job over disputes with Washington, died on Tuesday. Boutros-Ghali headed the United Nations from 1992-1996, chaotic years marked by war in the former Yugoslavia and famine and genocide in Africa. Egypt's state news agency MENA said he had a broken leg and heart and kidney problems.

Solving the evolutionary puzzle of menopause Posted: 16 Feb 2016 04:42 PM PST Menopause in women and females from a few other "higher" species is probably a fluke of nature rather than evolution at work, according to a study published Wednesday. Another, less polite, way scientists frame the question is this: why do females from a handful of species -- including killer whales -- continue to live well beyond the age when they can bear offspring? "Menopause is an evolutionary paradox," said Hazel Nichols, a biologist at Liverpool John Moores University and lead author of the study.

Top-seeded Kevin Anderson quits Delray Beach Open Posted: 16 Feb 2016 04:33 PM PST DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Top-seeded Kevin Anderson quit his first-round match at the Delray Beach Open on Tuesday because of an injured right shoulder.

UN says a 'humanitarian catastrophe' is unfolding in Yemen Posted: 16 Feb 2016 04:33 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. humanitarian chief warned Tuesday that a "humanitarian catastrophe" is unfolding in Yemen, exacerbated by increasing restrictions on efforts to respond to the staggering needs of millions of people including the diversion of a U.N. aid ship by Saudi-led coalition forces.

Food aid reaches thousands uprooted by Boko Haram in Chad: U.N. Posted: 16 Feb 2016 04:30 PM PST By Kieran Guilbert DAKAR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The successful delivery of food aid to thousands of people uprooted by Boko Haram violence in Chad and cut off from help since November may reflect improving security in the West African nation, the United Nations said on Tuesday. The U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) recently delivered food to 5,000 people who had been forced to flee their homes by conflict at five sites north of Lake Chad border town Baga Sola. "It has been a challenge to push the government to let us get to where we need to go, even with the necessary military escorts," said Stephen Tull, Chad coordinator for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Top Asian News 12:26 a.m. GMT Posted: 16 Feb 2016 04:26 PM PST SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea's president warned Tuesday that North Korea faces collapse if it doesn't abandon its nuclear bomb program, an unusually strong broadside that will likely infuriate Pyongyang. President Park Geun-hye, in addressing Parliament to defend the closure of a jointly run factory park in North Korea, said South Korea will take unspecified "stronger and more effective" measures to make North Korea realize its nuclear ambitions will result only in accelerating its "regime collapse." Park shut the factory park in response to the North's recent long-range rocket test, which Seoul and Washington see as a test of banned ballistic missile technology.

First U.N. refugee aid reaches war-battered Yemeni city in months Posted: 16 Feb 2016 04:26 PM PST By Sebastien Malo NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Humanitarian aid has reached the embattled city center of Taiz in Yemen for the first time in months, the United Nations said on Tuesday, following negotiations to allow supplies into the area described as being on the brink of famine. A convoy of trucks carried blankets, mattresses and emergency supplies for 1,000 families living in an isolated enclave in Yemen's third largest city who have been cut off amid months of fighting, the U.N. High Commissioner on Refugees said. Taiz, a city of more than 200,000 people that is considered Yemen's cultural capital, has been hard-hit in the fighting in which local militias and forces loyal to a Saudi-backed government ousted by Houthi rebels last March are seeking to fight their way back to the capital Sanaa.

Australian miner finds huge 404-carat diamond in Angola Posted: 16 Feb 2016 04:24 PM PST SYDNEY (AP) — A massive, 404-carat diamond measuring more than 7 centimeters (2.7 inches) in length has been unearthed in the southern African nation of Angola, an Australian mining company said.

Chinese ship to leave Australia to search for Flight 370 Posted: 16 Feb 2016 04:19 PM PST CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The first Chinese ship to search for the Malaysian airliner that vanished almost two years ago is due to depart Australia on Thursday for the southern Indian Ocean equipped with state-of-the-art sonar, a search agency said Wednesday.

Melbourne Victory fined, sanctioned because of fan trouble Posted: 16 Feb 2016 04:18 PM PST SYDNEY (AP) — Football Federation Australia has fined Melbourne Victory 50,000 Australian dollars ($35,500) and imposed a suspended competition points deduction following fan disturbances in the A-League Melbourne derby last weekend.

The Latest: Pope looks irked as overeager crowd tugs sleeve Posted: 16 Feb 2016 04:17 PM PST MEXICO CITY (AP) — The latest on Pope Francis' visit to Mexico (all times local):

Pope urges Mexican youth to resist lure of easy drug money Posted: 16 Feb 2016 04:15 PM PST MORELIA, Mexico (AP) — Pope Francis urged Mexico's young people to resist the lure of easy money from drug dealers and instead value themselves as the wealth of their country during a visit Tuesday to the heartland of Mexico's narcotics trade.

Obama under fire for lack of leadership over Syria Posted: 16 Feb 2016 03:55 PM PST The United States is coming under increasingly bitter criticism for its perceived lack of leadership over Syria as the country's brutal civil conflict heads toward new levels of intensity. Washington appears unable or unwilling to prevent its ally Turkey from bombing Kurdish fighters inside Syria, its critics say. In the eyes of his detractors, President Barack Obama is guilty of refusing to engage in Syria by doing exactly what he said he would do when he was elected in 2008: pulling America out of Middle Eastern wars, after the Iraq debacle, and "pivot" US foreign policy towards Asia.

Correction: Latin America Zika story Posted: 16 Feb 2016 03:51 PM PST RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — In a story Jan. 22 about the Zika virus in Latin America, The Associated Press reported incorrect figures for the number of people who were being treated for Guillain-Barre syndrome and the number of those who died of the condition in 2015 at the Hospital da Restauracao in Recife, Brazil. The hospital neurologist, Dr. Maria Lucia Ferreira, says that nine patients died of Guillain-Barre at the hospital last year and that a total of 55 patients were diagnosed and treated for the syndrome.

Pope urges Mexicans: don't lose heart amid violence Posted: 16 Feb 2016 03:42 PM PST Pope Francis encouraged young Mexicans to "dare to dream" and priests to stay strong on Tuesday in the face of relentless violence as he visited a cult-like drug cartel's former bastion. The pontiff made the pleas at two huge masses in Morelia, the capital of Michoacan, a western state where farmers took up arms in 2013 to combat the Knights Templar gang. Michoacan endured some of the most gruesome episodes of Mexico's drug war, which has left 100,000 people dead or missing in the past decade.

Obama calls for 'tangible steps' to lower South China Sea tensions Posted: 16 Feb 2016 03:37 PM PST President Barack Obama on Tuesday called for "tangible steps" to reduce tensions in the South China Sea, after a two day summit with Southeast Asian leaders concerned at Beijing's military build-up. China's actions in the vital waterway featured heavily in talks at Sunnylands, a sprawling California desert retreat. In a joint statement, Obama and the 10 ASEAN leaders demanded the "peaceful resolution" of a myriad of competing territorial claims over islands, atolls and reefs.

Flux Party seeks to be the bitcoin of Australian politics Posted: 16 Feb 2016 03:26 PM PST By Matt Siegel SYDNEY (Reuters) - A new Australian political party is using the virtual currency bitcoin as a model to replace what they say is an outdated political system - representative democracy - with a streamlined new polity for the information age. The Flux Party says its goal is to elect six senators. "If they didn't have to be senators, if they could just be software or robots they would be, because their only purpose is to do what the people want them to do," Flux Party co-founder Max Kaye told Reuters in an interview.

US restores regular flights to Cuba Posted: 16 Feb 2016 03:24 PM PST The United States and Cuba signed an agreement Tuesday authorizing daily US commercial flights to the communist-ruled island for the first time in more than 50 years. The deal allows up to 110 daily flights to 10 destinations in Cuba, with about 20 of them to the capital Havana, where authorities have ordered renovations to double the capacity of Jose Marti airport. "Today is a historic day in the relationship between Cuba and the United States," said US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx in Havana, where he signed the accord with his Cuban counterpart Adel Rodriguez.

Firth says 'rather restrained' characters often the richest Posted: 16 Feb 2016 03:23 PM PST Never underestimate the power of playing "a rather restrained man in a suit", Oscar winner Colin Firth said Tuesday as he presented a well-received biopic about a legendary American literary editor. "Genius", which drew warm applause at the Berlin film festival, tells the story of Max Perkins, who worked with some of the 20th century's greatest authors including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and Thomas Wolfe. The picture stars British actors Firth and Jude Law playing the taciturn Perkins and the exuberant Wolfe, in a partnership that required the editor to harness and tame the writer's raw unvarnished talent.

US freezes assets of Salvadoran MS-13 gang leaders Posted: 16 Feb 2016 03:19 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. authorities have frozen the assets of two leaders of the notorious MS-13 street gang based in Central America, saying they "pose significant threats to the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States."

Eagles of Death Metal perform in Paris for attack survivors Posted: 16 Feb 2016 03:16 PM PST PARIS (AP) — The California rock band Eagles of Death Metal performed Tuesday at a highly charged Paris concert filled with fans who survived a terrifying massacre and siege at their last Paris show - and filled with memories of those who didn't.

Admin opposes Cruz bill to rename Chinese Embassy address Posted: 16 Feb 2016 03:14 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration said Tuesday that the president would veto legislation to rename the area in front of the Chinese Embassy in Washington after a prominent Chinese political prisoner.

Turkey pushes case for ground operations as Kurds advance Posted: 16 Feb 2016 03:11 PM PST BEIRUT (AP) — Turkey said Tuesday it is pressing for ground operations in Syria, hoping for the involvement of the U.S. and other allies as a force dominated by Kurdish fighters pushed through rebel lines and captured more territory near the Turkish border.

Review finds Guantanamo prisoner was 'low-ranking' militant Posted: 16 Feb 2016 03:03 PM PST MIAMI (AP) — A Yemeni prisoner at the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, who appeared before a review panel Tuesday was a low-level militant but not part of an al-Qaida terrorist cell as previously believed, according to documents released by the Pentagon.

Hawks backup center Splitter to miss remainder of season Posted: 16 Feb 2016 03:00 PM PST ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Hawks say center Tiago Splitter needs season-ending hip surgery.

Syria says U.N. envoy de Mistura's credibility 'needs testing' Posted: 16 Feb 2016 02:55 PM PST BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian government has hit back at U.N. special envoy Staffan de Mistura's comment that its commitment to allow aid deliveries would be "tested", saying his own credibility needed testing, state media said on Tuesday. It quoted a Syrian foreign ministry source as saying that Damascus would not allow de Mistura to talk about testing its seriousness. De Mistura said earlier on Tuesday that President Bashar al-Assad's government had a duty to allow the United Nations to deliver humanitarian aid to all Syrians and that this would be tested on Wednesday.

Cavani scores as PSG beats Chelsea 2-1 in Champions League Posted: 16 Feb 2016 02:53 PM PST PARIS (AP) — Struggling striker Edinson Cavani came off the bench to score the winner as Paris Saint-Germain beat Chelsea 2-1 in a pulsating first leg in the last 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday.

Wales admit to Biggar concerns for Six Nations clash with France Posted: 16 Feb 2016 02:48 PM PST Wales have admitted to concerns around fragile fly-half Dan Biggar ahead of their next Six Nations clash with France at Cardiff's Principality Stadium. Biggar was forced off in the early stages of Wales' 16-16 draw with Ireland in Dublin 10 days ago and was again targeted during last weekend's 27-23 win over Scotland. France have used the tactic of targeting the fly-half in their two Six Nations clashes so far and Ireland No.10 Jonathan Sexton had to go off with a 'whiplash injury' towards the end of his team's 10-9 defeat in Paris on Saturday.

Bracewell ruled out of 2nd test vs. Australia Posted: 16 Feb 2016 02:47 PM PST WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand fast bowler Doug Bracewell has been ruled out of the second cricket test against Australia, starting Saturday, with a shoulder injury.

Syria's UN envoy blasts MSF over hospital attack Posted: 16 Feb 2016 02:46 PM PST Syria's UN envoy on Tuesday accused the medical aid charity MSF of being a front for French intelligence in Syria and dismissed allegations that Russian air strikes had destroyed one of its hospitals. "The so-called hospital was installed without any prior consultation with the Syrian government by the so-called French network called MSF which is a branch of the French intelligence operating in Syria," said Ambassador Bashar Jaafari.

Contaminated Flint water among most expensive in the U.S.: report Posted: 16 Feb 2016 02:46 PM PST (Reuters) - Residents of Flint, Michigan, one of the poorest cities in the United States, paid some of the nation's highest water bills even as the city failed to treat drinking water properly, leading to lead contamination, according to a report released on Tuesday. The annual water bill in Flint as of January 2015 was $864.32 for a household using 60,000 gallons a year, said Washington-based advocacy group Food & Water Watch. The rate remained high compared with many other cities even after a judge ordered Flint to reduce its rates by 35 percent and to stop charging a service fee.

Obama: US will keep looking to hit IS targets in Libya Posted: 16 Feb 2016 02:42 PM PST RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (AP) — President Barack Obama says the U.S. will continue attacking the Islamic State group in Libya as targets are identified.

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